dreams on tall seas
by colsamcarter
Summary: "Would it not be wise to wait until we have been witness to their prowess in the field to pass judgement on a person we do not know? It is possible that this change may benefit us all. It is possible that they may surprise you." "Yeah, well... I'll believe that when I see it." Police Procedural AU. Sam/Jack


this is pretty much the first thing I've written in about three years... yeah. feedback is much appreciated.

* * *

_dreams on tall seas_

Detective Jack O'Neill has never had an overwhelming amount of affection for scientists. They're usually the ones standing across from him in the morgue telling him that even though everyone in the department knows that the scumbag-of-the-week they just had in for questioning is the one responsible for the body lying in the drawer in the corner, they just don't have enough evidence to convince a jury beyond reasonable doubt. It might be petty, but that doesn't stop him grumbling all the way up from the morgue back up to homicide on the fourth floor whenever he has to make a visit.

Jack is a simple man. He likes steak (medium-rare), beer (Irish), The Simpsons (The MacGyver episode is his favourite), fishing (when he gets the chance) and above all, closing cases. He likes to stare down a suspect, pace the length of the one-way glass, choose which cards to play, how much to make them sweat. The way he approaches a case is strategic and brutally aggressive. He prefers to obtain confessions by wheedling them out of suspects, since forensic evidence has so rarely helped him close a case. He has always worked like this, and playing to his strengths has served him well. It's what has allowed him to get so far in the force, and his team has one of the highest closure rates in the state of Colorado, despite having only three members rather than the customary four. Their team is also unique in that they're not all technically on the force. He'd met Daniel on his first day at the academy, and Jack's pretty sure he wouldn't have made it out the other side without someone to force him to study the theory that he hated so passionately. Danny was always better with the more quantifiable aspects of being a police officer. Their third team member (who, despite not officially being a police officer, was as much a part of their team as Jack or Daniel) was a private investigator who had had his own business on the East Side of the Springs several years ago before he was offered a position as civilian crime analyst assisting the department. The three of them worked well together, had closed hundreds of cases together, and like most men in their 40s who were becoming progressively more silver-haired and bemoaned the decline of what they deemed good music, Jack was incredibly averse to change.

* * *

Jack had known from the moment that the Captain had approached his desk with trepidation that he was not going to like what was going to come out of Hammond's mouth. The guy was a great boss, who managed to balance the bureaucracy of his position with the need for his department to actually do their jobs. He treated his teams with respect and received the same sentiment in return. Jack knew the guy was only a few years off retirement - he enjoyed his job but all the politics was exhausting, and he clearly wanted nothing more than to move somewhere quiet and spend time with his grandkids. Today the wrinkles that had slowly encroached on his forehead were drawn into a frown. Specifically, the "I-have-bad-news-and-you're-not-going-to-like-this" frown.

"_Please_ tell me they're finally getting us a new coffee machine." Jack sighed, not even looking up from his paperwork. If only - they'd all been suffering through the same sludge for years. He was pretty sure that Daniel spent half his time chatting up Sarah in ballistics just so he could drink coffee that didn't taste like a monkey peed in battery acid.

"Sorry, Jack. I'm afraid I've got some news that I don't think you're going to like." He seemed sincerely apologetic, and that did not bode well. He cleared his throat and Teal'c got up from his desk to come over and listen, elbowing Daniel on his way over, who pulled his nose out of some boring-as-hell-looking court records to scoot his chair over to Jack's desk.

"What is it, Chief?" Jack gritted his teeth.

"I've just got off the phone with the mayor's office. They've ordered a transfer to our department. It seems they're not satisfied with the level of technical experts being employed by our department, and are sending someone over from Denver. From what I've been told, our new recruit has a solid background in ballistics and forensic science behind six years of experience on the force. I'm sorry, Jack - I know you've never had much love for scientists. Unfortunately, since all my other teams already have four members, it looks like the transfer will be joining your team. The transfer has approved by the mayor who thinks our department will benefit from this new addition, and I'm sorry to say the transfer is effective immediately - they should be here by the end of tomorrow. I've tried talking to Henry, but it's out of my hands now. It looks like you three will just have to make the best of it." Jack's hands instinctively rose to his temples, rubbing furiously as if he had a migraine that just wouldn't quit. Hammond opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off by the phone ringing. "Excuse me." Jack waved his hand and Hammond retreated to his office.

Teal'c sank down in the chair next to Jack's desk, watching carefully for his reaction.

"Great. That's just great. This is the last thing I need. Another damn scientist! And not just hiding away in their department - on my own damn team!" He looked up at Teal'c and Daniel, but neither of them seemed to display the same exasperation that he was feeling. Teal'c looked pensive and Daniel almost had that curious look he got when he was researching some intricacy of sociological criminology for a hard case.

"O'Neill, perhaps our team would benefit from the experience that this new member might have to offer." Teal'c reasoned.

"We're fine the way we are! We've got one of the highest closure rates in the state and I'll be damned if I see us held back because of some damn bureaucratic quota! I'm tellin' ya, scientists don't do anything but get in the way. Having someone like that out in the field with us is only gonna get one of us shot because we were too busy covering their asses on a bust." Daniel knew better than to try and challenge him after that. Doing so would probably only get him started on another rant about scientists and their incompetencies. Instead he scooted back to his desk and delved back into his records, leaving Teal'c to deal with Jack and his grouchiness.

"Would it not be wise to wait until we have been witness to their prowess in the field to pass judgement on a person we do not know? It is possible that this change may benefit us all. Captain Hammond did say that the transfer had several years experience as well as extensive scientific prowess. It is possible that they may surprise you."

"Yeah, well... I'll believe that when I see it."


End file.
